George H.W. Bush takes a skydive: That's one way to celebrate 90!

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Former President George H.W. Bush, strapped to Sgt. 1st Class Mike Elliott, a retired member of the Army's Golden Knights parachute team, floats to the ground during a tandem parachute jump near Bush's summer home in Kennebunkport, Maine, on Thursday in celebration of his 90th birthday. Robert F. Bukaty / Today

Two years ago, George Bush Sr. made a promise that he aimed to keep: When he turned 90 years old, he'd take a plunge.

And he did: The 41st president celebrated by going skydiving one last time Thursday morning.

Bush Hager's announcement on TODAY came after her interview with President Obama, who talked fatherhood and growing up in the White House. The president also sent a special birthday wish to her grandfather.

"He is as fine a man as I know, and whenever I see him with you guys, you can tell how beloved he is by his kids and his grandkids, and I just want him to know that from the whole Obama family, we wish him all the best,'' Obama told Hager.

In 1944, when he was a 20-year-old fighter pilot, his plane was shot down while attacking a Japanese installation on the island of Chi Chi Jima in the Pacific. Bush Sr. parachuted into the open water, suffering only minor injuries before he was rescued by an American submarine. Two other men who were on the plane with Bush were killed.

"You felt being scared sometimes, not all the time,'' he told Bush Hager on TODAY. "When I was coming down in the parachute, I was scared, and I was scared when I was in the water swimming, getting away from the Japanese island. I was scared."

The ordeal sparked his love of skydiving, even though his first jump didn't go so well.

"I did it wrong,'' he said. "I pulled the ripcord too early and hit the tail of the plane with my head, just (taking a) glancing blow. I've decided that later on, well, I want to do it right. And so that did spark my interest in making another jump, (and) this time getting it correct."

Bush Sr. has tried to live life to the fullest since getting a second chance.

"Well, I'm sure I could have done a lot of things better, but it's been a fulfilling time in my life, and a lot of experiences including being president of the United States,'' he said. "Not too shabby. It was an interesting time, and I enjoyed it all, enjoyed life and all."